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Louise Abbema created
diverse pieces of art throughout her life and was as
well known for these as she was for the life long
friendship she had with the stage actress of the time,
Sarah Bernhardt.
She started painting in her teens and was the pupil of
two well known artists, Charles Chaplin and Jean-Jacques
Henner. It was evident that she was destined to be an
artist and even at the age of fourteen she was producing
wonderful pieces of art such as the painting named ‘Game
of Croquet’. She was an only child and was encouraged by
her parents in her artistic pursuits. |
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Louise Abbema achieved enormous
success in 1876 when she was only eighteen, with a
portrait of Sarah Bernhardt. Sarah Bernhardt was a great
actress of the time, indeed, some say the greatest. She
appeared on the stage in both Europe and America. She
also appeared in some of the very first silent movies.
Louise created pieces of art featuring the actress
throughout her life and many said that they were lovers.
The well known actress was also a painter, sculptress
and writer and perhaps it was the mutual love of the
arts which drew them together. They were both known for
being rather eccentric and unconventional.
Louise Abbema was enormously talented and she also
received commissions to paint other well known figures
of the day such as Ferdinand de Lesseps, the well known
engineer who created the Suez Canal and Don Pedro the
Emperor of Brazil. She also painted a portrait of
Charles Garnier, the famous nineteenth century architect
responsible for the design of the Opera House in Paris.
Her talents included interior design and she also
received a number of civic commissions to paint panels
and murals in such places as the Opera House in Paris
and also the many town halls and theatres in the city.
She also painted the Governors Palace in Dakar in
Senegal. She was designated an Official Painter of the
Third Republic. However, she did not only accept
commissions for the ‘great’ buildings of the time, she
was also happy to grant requests for her to produce
works of art in private homes.
She was a regular exhibitor at the Paris Salon and the
State recognized her artistic talent by awarding her the
Legion of Honor in 1906. She also exhibited in Chicago
in 1893.
A speciality of hers was paintings of watercolors and
flowers and she was influenced by Japanese and Chinese
painting in this genre. Flowers featured regularly in a
number of her works and unlike other artists of the time
she did not have a ‘niche’. She was multi-talented and
also worked on illustrations for periodicals of the day
and is well known for illustrations she created for
calendars. She also produced a number of sculptures,
including a particularly well known one of the bust of
her muse Sarah Bernhardt. Her paintings are valued in
the region of $10,000 to $20,000, although it is almost
certain that if any forgotten portraits of her lover
should turn up they would be worth much more as they are
much sought after. As many of her paintings are in
private collections, this is always possible. |
